Full Notification

Our children now have a large variety of online social media and messaging services available to them. Each of these services can have different safety concerns. If it is easy enough for your thirteen year old to sign up for a service without providing an I.D., or age verification, the same can be assumed for the wrong types of individuals.

Recently it has come to our attention that there has been some inappropriate usage with some of these forums. Here are some basic tips which you can employ no matter how your children use the Internet.

Place the computer in a well traveled, centrally located area of your home.

Set limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long. Some newer devices allow you to accomplish this under parental settings.

Remember that Internet technology can be mobile, so make sure to monitor cell phones, iPod’s, gaming devices, and laptops.

Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online.

Do your best to know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.

Continually dialogue with your children about online safety. Remind them that things uploaded to the internet can be there forever! If you wouldn’t want you family members to see it, you should not be putting it on the internet.

Internet safety is everyone’s responsibility, with your help we can lessen the number of would be victims. Education and good practices are the best deterrent to crimes of this type.